Rubber rail seat



Sept; 28, 1937. N. K. MOSES RUBBER RAIL SEAT Filed April 16, 1955 INVENTOR a I IVL$ON K. f70$$ ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES 7 2,094,270 RUBBER mm. SEAT Nelson K. Moses, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignor of one-half to Paul A. Coley, Akron, Ohio Application April 16, 1935, Serial No. 16,620

6 Claims.

This invention relates to rubber rail seats such as are used on the permanent ways of railroads between the rails thereof and the ties to which said rails are secured.

6 The chief objects of the invention are to effect more quiet and more, comfortable passenger travel on railroads; to prolong the life of wooden ties by eliminating rail-wear thereon; to simplify the problem of ballasting the roadbed which heretofore permitted the ties towork up and down in the ballast; to keep the track true to gauge by preventing spreading of the rails; to equalize the spring in the rails; to eliminate creeping of the rails and thereby obviate the use of anti-creeper devices; to reduce thetendency of the rail-ends to flow and batter in service; to cushion the rebound of a rail after a load has passed thereover, thereby eliminating the noise that accompanies movement of a rail against a spike-head, and also preventing pulling of the spikes from the ties; to provide a rail-seat construction adapted to resist the action of the elements; to reduce the rocking motion of rolling stock, thereby eliminating breakage of freight and permitting faster travel-with less vibration; and'to provide a rubber rail seat that is easily and quickly applied to a rail. Other objects will be manifest as the specific'ation proceeds.

Of the accompanying'drawing, v Figure 1 is a vertical section through a trackrail and tie, and the improved rail seat assembled in operative relation therewith;

' Figure 2'is a side elevation; on a larger scale, of the improved rail seat; 35 Figure 3 is a plan view thereof; and

Figure 4 is a vertical section through an assembly that includes a rail seat comprising rubher and metal members. 40 Referring to the drawing, I0 is anordinary wood railroad tie set in ballast l I, I2 is a standard track-rail, I3 is an improved rubber rail seat em-' bodying the invention positioned beneath the rail l2 and resting upon the tie l0, and l4, M are the usual spikes that secure the rail andrail seat tothetie.

The rail seat I3 is composed of molded, resilient rubber composition of high quality so as to resist aging and deterioration after exposure tothe elements for periods of time as long as four or five 50 years. The thickness of the seat and its resilience are designed with a view to the conditions under which it is to be used, optimum results being obtained when there is a deflection under normal load of about one-eighth inch 64;")

As is best shown in Figure 3, the rail seat I3 is rectangular in shape, and has its top face formed with a transverse, undercut, rail-receiving groove IS, the portions of the structure overlying the undercuts, of the groove constituting flexible lips or flanges l6, I6. The bottom of groove I5 is not 5 parallel to the bottom face of the seat structure, but is transversely tilted or canted, as shown, to provide the proper cant to the track-rail l2. Because of the canted arrangement of groove l5, the seat structure is thicker on the lateral marginal portion thereof that is adjacent the high side of said groove, and the respective lips l6 are of equal thickness. Since the rails I2 of a track are canted toward each other, it will be seen that the thicker side of each rail seat will be outermost, whereby the seat is better able to resist normal lateral thrust of the rail and spreading of the rails is resisted. The groove I5 is the same width as the base flange of the rail l2, but its undercut portions are not of the same height as the thickness of the marginal portions of the said base flange of the rail, as will be seen by reference to the broken line contour of a rail in Figure 2. The arrangement is such that when a rail is mounted in the rail seat, the lips it are flexed upwardly, out of normal position, andput under tension, with the result that said lips normally press against the-upper face or the said base flange, and moisture and grit are prevented from penetrating between the rail and its seat. 3 The rail seat is formed with four spike holes [1, ll adapted to receive respective spikes I4, said holes being disposed at the lateral margins of groove I5. Thus when the rail and rail seat are spiked to a tie, the lateral margins of the base flange of the rail bear against the spikes, and the spike-heads overlie and somewhatcompres's the lips l6, as is most clearly shown in Figure 1. The arrangement is'such that the lips l6 always'remain in contact with the rail flange even when the latter is depressed under the normal load of rolling stock-passing thereover, said lips also serving to cushion the rebound of said rail flange, when the load is removed, so that there is no sudden impact against the spike-heads tending to loosen the spikes in the tie. Moreover, the frictional contact between the rail flange and rail seat is of such strength as to prevent longitudinal -movement or creeping of the rail, thus obviating the use of any other anti-creeping devices, and avoiding the detrimental effects of creeping.

Although the spikes on the outer side of the railabsorb most of the lateral thrust and prevent spreading, of the rails, said spikes are given strong lateral support by the thick rubber structure of the rail seat, which, being resilient, urges said spikes back to normal position in case they give under'pressure. Furthermorethe yielding nature of the seat structure assures that lateral thrust against the spikes on one side of the rail will not be transmitted to the spikes on the opposite side of the rail. Experience has shown that the use of the improved rail seat practically eliminates loosening of the spikes. The rubber rail seat protects the tie upon which it rests, and there is no such mutilation of the tie such as occurs when metal tie plates are used,

- or when the rail is applied directly to the tie.

The seatis sufllciently flexible'longitudinally of the groove ii that it is easily flexed for the' purpose pf applying it to a rail at any point thereon. In this respect it is superior to other seats which are of such stiffness as to permit mounting upon a rail only from an'end thereof. The seat is relatively simple in construction so as to be manufactured by a simple molding operation, its

,use results insubstantial economy of maintenance to track-way and rolling stock, and it achieves the other advantages set out in the forethe tie remains stationary, indicating that the .impact between tie and ballast is practically nothing. 0n the other hand, in the absence of the rubber seat, the .ties will have an up and down movement in the ballast of about one-v quarter inch under load. Thus the use of-the rail seat will reduce the strains on the splice bars and bolts, will reduce the impact between ties and ballast, and thus keep the joint in better surface. -duce the natural tendency of the rail flow and batter with service.

. The embodiment of the invention shown in It will also considerably reends to Figure 4 of the drawing is similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3 except for the addition of a metal supporting plate I! that is mounted between the tie Ill and the rubber rail seat ll.

The plate I! is formed with a transverse groove crrecess2linitstopface,which recessissomewhat shallower than the thickness of the rail seat II. The latter flts snugly within said recess 2|, the arrangement being such that the plate It provides substantial lateral support to theinnerand outerlateralfacesoi'therubber 'rail seat.

.holes llthatareinregistrywiththespikeholes The plate I! is formed with spike of seat l3 when the latter is assembled on the plate, and which receive the respective spikes l4 that secure the assembled structure and the rail I! to the tie Hi vention provides greater lateral rigidity to the rail, but its use is not necessary except where the trackway is laid on a curve of 45 or less.

This embodiment of the in- Modifications of the invention may be 'of less heightthan the'thickness of the flange structure received therein, and rail spike holes through the structure tangent to said groove at its region of greatest width.

2. A rail seat comprising a rubber rectangul structure formed with a transverse groove in its topfacejhaving undercut edges adapted to receive the base flange of a rail, said undercut portions of the groove being of less height than those portions of the rail flange received therein.

3. In combinationwlth a track rail, 9. nonmetallic 'rail'seat of resilient material underlying the base flange thereof, said rail seat being formed with integral, inherently resilient lips normallyurged against thetop of said base flange by reason of theirinherent resilience.-

4. In combination with a tie and track rail, a resilient rail seat betweenthe tie and rail formed with flexible lips that overlie the lateral marginal portionsjof the base flange of the rail, and rail spikes penetrating the said seat and extending lntothetie beneath, the heads of said spikes bearing upon said flexible lips.

5. In combination with a tie, a track rail, and spikes for 'securingthe latter to the tie, a rail seat consisting'of a unitary structure of resilient material comprising a portion disposed between the tie and rail to furnish resilient support for the latter, a portion engaging the outer sides of the spikes to laterally reinforce the same, and a portion the spike heads and the base flange of the rail constituting a cushion therebetween.

6.Arailseatcomprislngarectangularresil- 3 lent rubber structure formed with a rail receiving groove that extends transversely across its 7 top face, said groove being canted'with relation to the bottom face of the structure, the seat structure having a thicker marginal portion at NEISONK. HOSE. 

